The Secret of John Watson
by WhiteHawkHarringrove
Summary: What if John Watson was Victor Trevor/Holmes AKA Redbeard? How will Sherlock react to this information? How will this change their relationship now that Sherlock knows that his friend/brother is still alive?
1. Chapter 1

DO NOT READ UNLESS YOU'VE WATCHED SHERLOCK SEASON 4

I don't own the characters or the show, sadly.

All characters belong to BBC

He wasn't supposed to tell Sherlock his secret. That he was not, in fact, John Hamish Watson, but another man. A man that Sherlock had once known, when he was just a child. It had been easier to tell the dark-haired boy lies instead of knowing what truly happened. If Sherlock thought that Eurus was a shock then he was about to have a heart attack.

It would be dangerous if Sherlock knew who he truly was, only Mycroft and 'John's' parents knew his true identity, not even Lestrade could dig deep enough to figure it out. Mycroft destroyed his files and gave him the background of John Watson.

But now it was time to tell him, tell Sherlock his darkest secret. That he was Victor Trevor... He was Redbeard and he was his brother. He never died in the well, he climbed out with bloody hands and blisters to Mycroft who hid him away until he joined went to medical school and the army under a new name.

When Eurus told him that it wasn't a secret brother but a secret sister, he almost scoffed. So Sherlock had a secret brother and sister. John was the second oldest Holmes child, he was a year older than Eurus and 2 years younger than Mycroft.

Sherlock's deductions were only correct because that was how John and Mycroft set them to be. He gave John the scratched phone and told him to fake a limp, the tan lines were the only real thing that Sherlock knew about him. John had the phone engraved with fake names to throw him off. Harry was originally going to be his brother but he thought he'd have some fun and said that Harry was short for Harriet.

He was ripped from his thoughts as the flat door opened and Sherlock strolled in. He glanced at John who was sitting in his chair with a furrowed brow.

"You have something on your mind," Sherlock stated. John looked up and opened his mouth to speak but quickly shut it

"Tell me, John," Sherlock ordered.

"Mycroft wasn't the only one hiding something from you,"


	2. Chapter 2

"Mycroft wasn't the only one hiding something from you,"

"What do you mean, John? Spit it out!" Sherlock exclaimed. John sighed, his heart began to race with the beginning of an anxiety attack.

"Eurus wasn't the only sibling kept a secret from you."

"What do you mean?" Sherlock was fed up with the lack of information.

"I'm your brother," John spoke swiftly, almost too fast for Sherlock to comprehend. The raven-haired man tented his hands together under his chin.

"Do you think this is funny?"

"No, Sherlock, I don't think this is funny, I'm telling the truth." John tried to tell Sherlock but was cut off.

"Prove it or get out," The younger man told him simply.

"Mycroft destroyed my other files when I was Victor Holmes, I can't prove it right now, but Mycroft can." John attempted to reason with Sherlock but he was having none of it.

"Get out now!" John had never heard the man with such malice in his voice, and frankly he was terrified. He bolted out of the flat as fast as his legs would carry him. Sherlock collapsed into his chair as soon as John left the room. He took out his phone and found Mycroft's number. His finger hovered over the call button.

John was standing outside in front of 221b, he glanced up with slightly tear filled eyes towards the window and started walking.

He had been walking for a while when he noticed a dark figure following him. He turned into an alley, thinking it was a good idea. Wrong. He saw the figure following him still. John spun around in an attempt to startle the person following him. What he didn't expect was a knife to be driven into his abdomen.

At first it felt like a punch, then the searing pain began. The attacker quickly vanished, leaving John in the alley, knife in his stomach and bleeding out fast.


	3. Chapter 3

At first it felt like a punch, then the searing pain began. The attacker quickly vanished, leaving John in the alley, knife in his stomach and bleeding out fast.

John lay there, terrified. The only other time he had felt this kind of pain was in Afghanistan when he had been shot. At least in Afghanistan he had his fellow soldiers to help him out. Not this time. He was alone. He pressed down around the knife, attempting to stop the bleeding and stabilize the weapon.

The ringing of his cell phone caught him off guard. John felt light headed as he tried to remember where his phone was. He vaguely started to remember and dug it out of his back pocket. He looked at the number on the phone but his brain didn't understand it. He picked up anyway, needing help at any cost.

"Hello?" He asked, surprised that his voice sounded so normal. He heard Sherlock's voice on the other end.

"John, I talked to Mycroft and he told me everything. This isn't easy for me to say but... I'm sorry John, for everything. On the other hand, this is quite extraordinary isn't it? Another person with the Holmes genetics. And John, Why didn't you answer my texts?" Sherlock's mouth ran almost too fast for John to understand.

"Sorry, I didn't realize you sent a text, how long h's it been s'nce I left?" John asked, starting to slur his words.

"John, it's been 10 minutes, are you okay?" The worry was evident in his younger brother's voice. John thought for a minute and almost wanted to laugh, he'd never heard Sherlock use that tone with anyone.

"W't w's the q'sti'n again?" He asked, suddenly unsure of what he had been asked. This confirmed Sherlock's thoughts that John was not okay.

"John, listen to me, what happened, where are you?" He was bombarded with the two questions.

"Oh, I'm 't th all'y by Cranbourn st'eet, w's walking 'n suddenly som'ne p'll'd a kn'fe on me, I'm bleeding pr'tty b'd," He told Sherlock as he started to pass out. He couldn't hear Sherlock calling his name or the tires of a grey vehicle screeching to a halt in front of the alley.

He didn't see Greg Lestrade leaping out of the vehicle. Mycroft told Lestrade where he was as soon as he saw the stabbing on the CCTV cameras hidden all over the city. So there he was, an ambulance was only a minute behind him but he was afraid that he would be too late. When Lestrade saw the unconscious figure, he bolted over to him immediately. He pressed his hands on the wound.

"John!" The DI tried to rouse John but it wasn't working. Then he saw the phone beside the younger man's limp hand. He heard Sherlock's voice on the other end.

"Sherlock? I'm here with John now, he's alive but fading fast, an ambulance should be here any minute. Start on your way to St Barts and we'll meet you there," He listed off to Sherlock as the sirens grew deafeningly loud. He heard the tires stop in front of the alley, the lights bounces off the walls of the brick alleyway. Everything was a blur from there, next thing he could really remember was the medics unloading John from the ambulance and into surgery.

Sherlock dashed into the hospital shortly after the rig had arrived. He looked around frantically before his eyes settled on Lestrade. He was over in a flash.

"How's John? Any news?" The young man asked.

"Not yet, but don't worry, John's a fighter," Lestrade reassured him.

Thus began 7 long hours of waiting.


	4. Chapter 4

The doctor entered the waiting room 7 hours later, looking exhausted.

"John Watson," The doctor announced and Sherlock shot up, knocking Lestrade's leg and waking him up as well. Sherlock approached the doctor.

"I'm John's brother, how is he?" Lestrade was slightly confused by this information but he would mention it later.

"He's lost a lot of blood, we almost lost him twice. For now he's stable but not out of the woods yet." The doctor told the young man who seemed to have aged 10 years from worry.

"When can we see him?" Sherlock asked eagerly.

"We're moving him to a private room, we'll come get you as soon as he's settled. There's another man with him, I'm assuming you know him, he said he's John's brother.. Myc something I believe." The doctor told them. Sherlock nodded in acknowledgement.

"Yes, he is our brother." The doctor nodded and turned to walk back to wherever John was. Sherlock finally let out a sigh of relief.

"I told you he would be fine," Lestrade nudged Sherlock with his foot. Mycroft walked out a few minutes later.

"Hello brother mine, detective inspector." He acknowledged their presence.

"What happened to him?" Sherlock asked the older Holmes. Mycroft sighed.

"Attempted mugging, what he didn't expect was for John to turn on him. Scared him to death, so after John was stabbed, he ran, leaving his knife along with his fingerprints. You can see him now if you would follow me," He stated, leading the way. Sherlock and the DI followed in close persuit.

Down the hall, Mycroft opened the door to John's room. Sherlock was terrified of all the wires and tubes that emerged from his best friend and brother. Said man looked pale and sickly, a blood bag was hooked up to him to replenish the blood he had lost.

John stirred slightly, causing the youngest man to be at his side immediately. He opened his eyes a sliver, looking up at Sherlock and smiling. He then looked around.

"Rosie?" He asked tiredly, looking expectantly at his brother. Sherlock put a gentle hand on his shoulder.

"Mrs. Hudson is taking care of her, don't worry yourself." He reassured John, he nodded and his eyes started to slip closed. He fell back into the drug induced sleep. Sherlock grabbed his hand gently, careful not to wake him. Lestrade motioned for the oldest Holmes to join him in the hallway.

"Why did Sherlock say that John was his brother?" Lestrade asked straight out. Mycroft sighed.

"Because he is and until recently, Sherlock was unaware of this, we kept his identity hidden for his own safety. Eurus could not know that he was alive." Mycroft told the short version of the story. John could tell the rest of the story and answer any questions later.

Just a note, I will try to write at least once a week now that school is starting again but don't hold me to that timeline


	5. Chapter 5

A few weeks later, John and Sherlock sat in their flat, next to the warm crackling fire in the fireplace, Mrs. Hudson was downstairs, taking care of Rosie. Sherlock's eyes were locked on his brother who shifted uncomfortably under his gaze.

"Fascinating," the younger man muttered, never breaking the gaze.

"What exactly do you find fascinating?" John asked, turning in the other man's direction. Sherlock hesitated before speaking.

"I'm shocked that I've never seen the similarities before, for once someone was able to surprise me." He stated and continued staring.

"Yeah, that's starting to get creepy now," John told the younger, sighing.

"Sorry, I'm still trying to figure all of this out. Are we sure we're siblings?"

"Yes I'm sure. I was sure at the hospital three weeks ago when you asked. I was sure when you knocked on the door while I was having a bath-"John was cut off

"Okay, I get-"

"I was still sure when I woke up to you standing at the end of my bed, staring at me, I was also sure at breakfast that morning and that night when I locked the door but I still woke up to at the end of my bed, I know how you did that by the way, not very clever I must say. And I was sure but wishing it wasn't when you announced it at the shop. Did I miss anything?" He asked, Sherlock just blinked.

"How did you know how I got into your room?" He asked.

"Please Sherlock, it's child's play. You came in through the window. The floor was slightly damp where your shoe prints were. You were wearing shoes, not socks, one does not wear shoes unless he is going out, so... Conclusion? You got in through the window. And you left the window open, it was bloody freezing when I woke up."

"Fascinating, turns out you're not the idiot we thought you were." John huffed in response to that comment.

* * *

A/N: If you have any questions, feel free to ask in the review section.


	6. Chapter 6: The Final Chapter

Last Chapter!

* * *

3 months later:

It was the first day back on the job. Sherlock and John Holmes (yes, John changed his last name back to Holmes but kept the name he had grown used to) stepped onto the crime scene, ignoring the looks from the officers around them.

"Lestrade, what have we got?" John asked loudly as they approached the inspector. Lestrade was surprised by the military man's appearance. John had let his dyed hair grow out to it's real dark brown over the past few months. He was wearing a suit in a similar fashion to Sherlock's except less flashy.

"Female, age 27, name Anne Waron. Suspected drowning, we found her in the lake." Lestrade answered despite the shock. He led the brothers to the body on the beach.

"I disagree, she was strangled. There is bruising around her neck," Sherlock started off, kneeling beside the victim," the cold of the water kept her body relatively well preserved, her face is-"

John scoffed slightly and Sherlock turned to him, quirking an eyebrow. John kneeled next to him.

"Please, Sherlock, it's clearly forced heroin injection," John told his younger brother. When Sherlock gave him an expectant look he went on," there is bruising around her neck but not nearly enough to kill her, meaning it was something else and I couldn't help but notice how skinny she is, and the track marks on her arms though none of them recent. I suspect she was injected through her navel, nobody ever looks there, thus making it the perfect place to inject someone. Any questions?"

Sherlock shook his head in disbelief.

"Fantastic."

"Do you know you're saying that out loud?"

* * *

THE END

how did you like it?


End file.
